//If NBA Teams Want to Take a Real Stand, Now is Their Chance. But We Haven’t Seen it Yet

If NBA Teams Want to Take a Real Stand, Now is Their Chance. But We Haven’t Seen it Yet

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, NBA teams have mostly been sympathetic on social media. What will they do after the conversation?

Unless you’re living in the bunker the president uses to hide from protesters and your phone battery has died, if you’re a sports fan, you’ve seen your favorite team release a statement about the killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis resident who was pleading for his life while an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, while three other officers watched. These statements all offer very similar platitudes. A stand against injustice! A strong condemnation of racism! A commitment to equality! A pledge to listen! The vast majority of these statements also fail to mention the specific institution responsible for Floyd’s death: the police.

This is—to say the least—an uncomfortable time in this nation’s history. A